Geek Speak: Random Mac Stuff You Need to Know
http://www.macfanatic.net/blog/
Copyright © 2007 Matt Brewer
Macworld 2007 and Objective-C 2.0
Well, everyone has had enough time in the last few weeks to fully absorb the information surrounding Macworld. So, now that you have a full stomach, let’s talk a bit more about what all went on at Macworld this year.
? iPhone
The ?iPhone is here to stay. Maybe not on store shelves right now, but Apple has unleashed this beast to the wild by letting all of us see Jobs’ pride and joy. Yes, we have ?iPhone!
What does this all mean for Mac users? I have a few points I’d like to elaborate on. First, the iPhone is another step following the iPod, and a big one at that. To clarify, if people were upset and downright scared that the iPod was going to steal thunder from the Mac with the insane success it has endured the last few years, those people have even more reason to be scared now. The iPhone is a major undertaking and will have a huge impact in many markets. Whether or not it will revolutionize and change my world, I don’t know. I do know that it will most likely gain in popularity over the next few years as features are added and the price drops. Second point simply being that several Mac related products should benefit from technologies developed for the iPhone, so it should be an interesting ride.
For those that did watch the keynote, when Jobs demoed the device, we heard a cool ringtone. As luck would have it, someone on the net has taken the time to edit the keynote coverage to provide just the ?iPhone ringtone. http://www.slashphone.com/64/6330.html
Developers Cry Out for iPhone
Apple has specifically locked developers out from the iPhone, at least for the immediate future. Jobs’ even went on record saying that rogue software on the iPhone could bring down the Cingular network and that users wouldn’t want to put just any old software on their phones. These just are not good enough reasons, I’m sorry Steve.
The iPod is a closed platform device and there have been several arguments made for/against this strategy over the last several years. Developers can’t create software for the iPod, but that doesn’t seem to be as big a deal as being locked out of the iPhone. The iPhone is running a smaller version of Leopard, due out sometime this spring. This means that developers could get extremely creative and deliver robust applications to satisfy many needs. However, Apple has so far remained firm in its decision to lock developers out from the iPhone. In time, we might see a SDK for the iPhone, allowing developers to create applications for the device, but I believe that will be several months out, if ever.
? TV
The Apple TV was officially released at Macworld this year, sporting some nice features and tech specs. I have read several articles by people who strongly state that they will wait for a second generation of the device that might support new features. However, I think that the version being offered right now is a good value. A lot of other people seem to agree as well since the Apple TV is now the top seller in Apple’s Online Store, out ranking iPods. And it’s not even shipping yet.
iLife, iWork, Leopard
I was under the impression that there would be the normal updates to both iLife and iWork this year, with a more in-depth preview of Leopard. However, none of these titles were even mentioned at the conference this year. There have been reports that all three titles were delayed to further integration between one another and the iPhone. That will be fine with me as long as it is indeed worth the wait.
Objective-C 2.0
If you haven’t read up on the awesome features that are slated to be released in Leopard, you need to take the time and read, for pure enjoyment. However, if you are a serious Mac developer, you especially need to take the time to visit the Leopard area on ADC and learn more about XCode 3.0, the new Interface Builder, XRay, and Objective-C 2.0
Objective-C 2.0 has a few features such as fast enumeration and garbage-collecting that will be cool, but one feature that I really like so far is properties.
Properties will work like key-value coding should have worked from the start. I say this simply because I was new to Cocoa and this was one point that has got on my nerves in the last few months.Properties solves that.
Properties allow you to define what instance variables your object will contain, without having to write special (and repetitive) accessor methods for each one. While there are applications available that will generate this code for you, I don’t see why we even need to have it in the first place, if it can be generated that easy. Someone at Apple had the same thought and came up with properties.
Of course the drawback here is going to be backwards compatibility and there will be plenty of cases when you need to write your own accessor methods for situations that a basic setter/getter won’t do. But properties promise to clean up our code a lot in Leopard and looking forward. Hey, less code, less mistakes. Sounds like a plan to me.
Contact Info
You can always send me an email at mbrewer@maccompanion.com or visit my website at http://www.macfanatic.net for more information about me and my ramblings. I also produce a weekly audio podcast taking an in-depth review of cool and new Mac applications, along with tips, tutorials, and developer interviews.
